Albany International Airport (IATA: ALB, ICAO: KALB, FAALID: ALB) is a public airport seven miles (11 km) northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority.[1]

In the past, most airlines operated mainline aircraft to ALB. The biggest aircraft that flew into ALB was Air Force One (Boeing 747), which has made four appearances: in 1994, 2009, 2011, and again in 2012. The C-5 Galaxy has landed for training, for cargo during Hurricane Katrina, and for the transportation of President Obama's motorcade on September 20 and 21, 2009. An Air Canada Airbus A340-300 (which has seating for 286 passengers) made an unscheduled arrival on December 21, 2007. Also, on August 10, 2012, a United AirlinesBoeing 767-400 flight from Munich, Germany was diverted to Albany due to bad weather conditions at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey where the flight was expected to land.

History[edit]

Albany International was the first, and remains the oldest, municipal airport in the United States. In 1908 the airstrip was on a former polo field on Loudonville Road, three miles (5 km) north of the city in the town of Colonie. In 1909 the airport moved to Westerlo Island, in the city of Albany, but at that time was in the town of Bethlehem; the airport was named at this time. The airport was named after Teddy Roosevelt's son, Quentin, a fighter pilot during World War I. A $10,000 prize was established for sustained flight between Albany and New York City; Glenn Curtiss achieved this on May 29, 1910. Other early pioneers of aviation that stopped at this early field were Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and James Doolittle.

Mayor John Boyd Thacher II once said "a city without the foresight to build an airport for the new traffic may soon be left behind in the race for competition". He therefore decided to build in 1928 a new modern airport on the Shaker site near Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie, not far from the original polo fields used as the first site of the municipal airport. The Shakers not only sold the land used but also loaned the use of tractors and tools.

The early Albany Airport was often closed and threatened with closure which prompted repeated improvements in the late 1930s and 1940s. The airport was closed from January 1939 until December 1940, when it reopened to traffic during daylight hours only, and then with no restrictions since January 1942. The airport has not been closed (other than for weather and emergency landings) since.

ALB was jointly owned and managed by the city and county of Albany until 1960 when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd ended the city's stake.

In 1962 a new terminal building opened. A landside building had ticket counters, a coffee shop, and baggage claim on the first floor and a restaurant, offices and viewing area on the second floor. A single-story boarding concourse extended outwards from this building. In 1968 this concourse was widened to allow more concessions and boarding space. The terminal was expanded again in 1979, with the addition of a new two-story building attached diagonally to the northwest. It had boarding gates for Allegheny Airlines on the second floor, and baggage carousels on the first floor.

The main terminal building at Albany International Airport

The Albany County Airport Authority was created by the county in 1993 with a 40-year lease to operate the airport in 1996. A new terminal was begun on May 16, 1996, opening June 1998. It was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills and Stracher-Roth-Gilmore,[5] and it was built around the existing terminal, most of which was demolished upon its completion. Only the 1979 extension remains from the old terminal building.[6]

Service history[edit]

At the time of US Airline Deregulation in 1978, most of Albany's service was provided by two "trunk carriers" (American Airlines and Eastern Air Lines) and one "local service carrier" (Allegheny Airlines, which renamed itself USAir in 1979). After Deregulation, many new airlines expanded to Albany. Most did not survive the tumultuous 1980's.

Airlines that served Albany after Deregulation include:

Braniff International Airways, which added Albany as part of an unsuccessful large expansion in 1979. Albany was the only Upstate New York market served by this colorful and storied Dallas-based airline, which shut down in 1982.

Piedmont Airlines, a pre-deregulation local service carrier based in North Carolina, expanded to the Northeast with a hub at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They served Albany from this hub. They also bought Empire in 1985 and merged them into itself. In 1987, Piedmont was bought by USAir who wanted to eliminate the unwelcome new competition. Piedmont Airlines, now a wholly owned subsidiary of US Airways and operates under the name US Airways Express, provides US Airways with all ground handling services at Albany International Airport. Piedmont Airlines still operates flights in and out of Albany International Airport, but its aircraft are branded with the US Airways Express logo.

Republic Airlines, an airline formed from the merger of three pre-Deregulation local service carriers, added service from Albany to their Detroit hub in 1984. They were bought by Northwest Airlines in 1987; Northwest was bought by Delta Air Lines in 2008 and took over their operations in 2009.

United Airlines, which had long served Rochester and Buffalo, added Albany and Syracuse in 1982. United and its affiliates serve Albany today.

During 1986–1987, the airline industry consolidated through a series of mergers, so that after 1989 the US airline industry was dominated by a group of six "legacy carriers:" American, United, Delta, Northwest, USAir, and Continental. All of them served Albany themselves or by their regional affiliates. During the 1990s, Albany and other Upstate markets enjoyed little low-fare service, and the legacy carriers mostly kept fares high. Southwest Airlines' entry into Albany in 2000 ushered in a new era of low fare service at the airport.

Recent history[edit]

Nonstop destinations from Albany International Airport effective August 2014.

Albany International Airport is receiving $5.9 million in federal stimulus money to benefit the effort to remove a water tower which is considered an obstruction by the FAA for incoming aircraft on the runway 28 approach.[7]

American Eagle ended service to ALB on November 1, 2008. Originally ALB had service by American Airlines, but that ended after 9/11.

Albany International Airport is one of only 4 airports in the world using dual jet bridges (one bridge for the back, one for the front). However, only Southwest Airlines uses them, and not on all flights.[citation needed]

US Airways used to have major operations at Albany, including its own hangar, MetroJet services to Orlando and Baltimore, and dozens of mainline flights a day. These services were cut down when US Airways went bankrupt in the period after the 9/11 attacks.[citation needed]

A US Airways Express Dash 8 at Albany Airport

Construction has recently been completed on the 1,300-foot (400 m) runway extension for runway 1/19. The runway now measures 8,500 feet (2,600 m).[8]

In the past ALB had been serviced by Delta Express flying to Orlando and Tampa, MetroJet flying to Orlando and Baltimore. In those airlines' final years of operation, when they flew alongside Southwest Airlines, Albany had up to eight flights to Orlando.

ALB has become a focus city for Cape Air flying to Watertown, Ogdensburg, Massena, and Boston.

Albany currently faces high domestic air fare prices due to Southwest and US Airways, which make up a large portion of the operations at the airport. ALB has an agreement with Delta Air Lines to fly larger aircraft to and from Atlanta. The increase in operations paired with an increase demand is projected to allow the fares at ALB to decrease.

In 2001, ALB completed a glycol waste-to-energy plant which treats de-icing fluid. This system removes 99.99% of glycol pollutants, and allows direct discharge into a nearby creek. The plant generates more power than it consumes, and saves the airport over $750,000 per year in sewage fees.[10]

In February 2011, the Albany County Airport Authority announced that they would be meeting with at least five airlines, some that don't currently serve Albany, about the rising fares and declining service at the Albany International Airport. Albany fares increased by 14.24 percent over 12 months to the third period of 2010 to $384.15. The percentage increase was the 19th greatest of the 100 major airports tracked in the DOT study. The airport also noted that the airport has seen a net loss of four daily flights over the past year, although there are promising signs with Delta Air Lines increasing mainline service to Atlanta International Airport on McDonnell Douglas MD-88 jets; as well as Cape Air's three new non-stop flights between Albany and Boston that began in March on the airline's Cessna 402s.[11]

In March 2011, Albany International Airport CEO John O'Donnell said that the airport was considering adding an incentives program to increase business at the airport. According to O'Donnell the program would offer significant incentives" for airlines to add service. A couple of the airports on the list of possible new destinations are Los Angeles, Denver, Fort Myers, Houston, and possible seasonal service to Myrtle Beach and Cancun.[12]

Airport CEO John O'Donnell announced in late March that he is confident that Southwest Airlines will start offering non-stop service to Atlanta in late 2011 following its merger with AirTran Airways that is scheduled to close in the second quarter of this year.[13]

In July 2011, Albany International Airport began to seek a $1.25 million grant to attract new destinations and airlines. Albany Airport is hoping that this grant will add nonstop service to Houston, Texas, as well as many other destinations.[14]

As of August 5, Albany International Airport is receiving $500,000 from local Capital Region businesses to add flights and airlines.[15]

In September 2011, the Albany International Airport received $750,000 in a federal grant that will be used to provide a revenue guarantee to an airline that will provide non-stop service to Houston, Texas, Denver, Colorado or Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.[16]

It was officially announced that November 16, 2011 would be the final day of service between Watertown and Albany. The service offered by Cape Air will be replaced by American Eagle, on 44-seat regional jets to Chicago-O'Hare. This will not affect Albany's service to Odgensburg and Massena.[17]

On March 17, 2014 JetBlue Airlines officially announced it would begin services in Albany starting in 2015 with one daily non-stop flight to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, FL.[18]

CommutAir hub[edit]

In early 2001, CommutAir started to invest in an Albany hub. The hub was to connect smaller cities with bigger cities with Continental Express and mainline. At its peak CommutAir served Allentown, Bangor, Binghamton, Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Elmira, Portland, Harrisburg, Nantucket, Scranton, La Guardia, Islip, Hartford, White Plains, Manchester, Providence, Syracuse, Rochester, Lake Placid, Montreal, Ottawa, and Plattsburgh. The hub was closed down in late 2005 to shift operations to Cleveland. A few of the markets did do well. The hub was served by Beechcraft 1900s operated by CommutAir for Continental Connection. Currently, CommutAir operates 2 flights from Albany to its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport for United Express.

Concourses[edit]

Concourse A[edit]

Concourse A was opened in 1968. Prior to the opening of a much more modern Concourse B in June 1998, all gates in Concourse A were occupied by US Airways. United Airlines and Cape Air are currently the only two airlines in Concourse A. Other previous airlines at Concourse A include American Airlines, American Eagle, Northwest Airlines (before their merger with Delta Air Lines) and Continental Airlines (before their move to Concourse C). United, following its merger with Continental added gate A4, and following the transfer of flights to/from Cleveland and Newark to Concourse A, United also added gate A3, giving United control of gates A3-A6. Concourse A has the Saranac Street Pub and a Paradies Shop (Capital News & Gifts).

Concourse B[edit]

Delta Air Lines and US Airways currently share the concourse, with Delta having three gates (B5, B7, B8) and US Airways having three gates (B9, B10, B11). Concourse B's amenities include a Paradies Shop (Capital News & Gifts), Hudson Valley Wine Bar, Starbucks and Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen. Gates B1, B2, B4 (lower level) and B6 are currently not in regular use (B3 boarding area has been blocked and is currently used as office space).

Concourse C[edit]

Concourse C was opened in June 1998 as part of the airport's $184 million renovation project. Concourse C has three gates, all currently being used by Southwest Airlines. Concourse C has a Brioche Dorée Café, two Paradies Shops (Capital Book Sellers and Capital Gifts), a business center and an interfaith prayer chapel.

Concourse D[edit]

There have been discussions between the Town of Colonie and The Albany Airport Board regarding the construction of a new concourse. The concourse will be built to satisfy the needs of a growing US Airways and Southwest, and will also become an international concourse with immigration and customs facilities.[19] Southwest only has two gates for their operations which some have said is not enough, considering that Southwest has over a 40% market share with only 10% of the gates. At times, aircraft have to wait until one of the two gates open up or passengers have to deplane on the tarmac via airstairs. Proponents of the new concourse contend that it would also be useful to attract new airlines to ALB. The proposed concourse would have approximately 10 gates. However, there is insufficient space for the new facility on airport property at this time.

Cargo carriers[edit]

Ground transportation[edit]

Car[edit]

Albany International Airport has direct access to I-87 and New York State Route 7 via Albany-Shaker Road, a 3.3-mile four-lane boulevard. The New York State Department of Transportation is currently in the developing stages of the Exit 3 Project.[24] The Exit 3 Project will eventually provide better access to Albany International Airport and improve Exit 4. The airport is served by major car rental companies as well as by local taxi and limousine services.

Walking[edit]

There are currently few sidewalks connecting the terminal to nearby hotels or other destinations. However, the New York State Department of Transportation has proposed installing pedestrian and bicycle facilities along Albany Shaker Road during an upcoming interchange project. This will connect the airport to hotels and businesses along Wolf Road.[25]

On March 3, 1972 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, a Fairchild Hiller FH-227 crashed into a house in Albany, New York on approach to Albany County Airport. The crew had difficulty getting the cruise lock to disengage in one of the engines. While the crew attempted to deal with the problem, the aircraft crashed short of the airfield, killing 16 of the 48 people in the aircraft and one person on the ground. The lone surviving crew member was a stewardess, Sandra Quinn.